


April Fool's Lover

by TheVoidless



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Everyone is basically confused, Except maybe it's not unrequited, Explicit Language, M/M, RIP tord, Unrequited Love, but wait there's more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-15 19:19:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11237517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVoidless/pseuds/TheVoidless
Summary: Tord wakes up to a letter from Tom confessing his love.





	1. Chapter 1

Tord woke up bleary eyed and feeling like complete shit. He unraveled himself from his tangle of blankets and threw them to the end of him bed, heaving a heavy sigh. Still laying down, he stared at the rough ceiling in a silent question of if it was really worth getting up. 

Tord distantly realized he had a minor headache in the back of his head, but he opted to ignore it for as long he could. If he was lucky enough it’d be gone by the time he’d leave his room and he’d had to see Tom’s annoying face.

And that’s when he saw it. On Tord’s bedstand rested a piece of paper.

It was folded up as though to fit in an envelope, but it was slightly open, the creases not pressed in enough. At first Tord was going to disregard it, planning on reading it later. That changed, however, once he saw Tom’s handwriting, and his curiosity overcame his laziness. 

Quickly pushing up his body to a sitting position on his bed, he snatched up the paper. He was confused and irritated that the fucker would leave a note, but he pushed those thoughts aside immediately as he began to read it.

_“Dear Tord,_

_For a long while now I’ve been keeping this a secret. But I think now it’s time to let you know that I love you.”_

Oh god. What the hell? Tord’s stomach dropped. His headache increased, pounding to the beat of his heart. He looked away from the paper, staring blankly at the wall facing him. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to feel? Was Tord happy? Sad? He pried deep inside himself, looking for answers but came up with nothing. He felt...empty. 

Was this a fucking joke?

There was a period of time when he was sure he liked Tom. Who didn’t? Tord used to love the way Tom smiled, the way he moved. He was attractive, too. It didn’t help things that Tom didn’t seem to reciprocate those feelings. 

But over the years he was grating. Constant swears thrown at him, snide remarks that left Tord holding back his fist. The looks Tom would give him sometimes that would make his blood boil. The way he drank 24/7, almost never sober. He was the kind of person to drown out his problems rather than fix them, and Tord disliked that about people. 

Now that Tord thinks about it, when did it all go wrong? Where was the point of so much fucking with each other that there was no going back? When did his attraction turn into hate?

But now, how was this happening? Tom was his mortal enemy, the person he supposedly hated the most. Maybe Tom was drunk when he wrote it. But no, he glanced back down at the letter. The handwriting was too clear to have been written by someone intoxicated. He even smelled it for a scent of alcohol, but all he could sense was the musty deodorant Tom used. Tord unconsciously registers that his headache lessened. As he examined the page, he continued to read.

_“I know this sounds ridiculous. You hate me, and I get that. I just want to get these feelings off my chest._

_Whenever I go to sleep at night I see your beautiful face. I hug my pillow at night pretending its you.”_

Tord’s face heated up. He wasn’t sure how much more he could read. It was so damn cheesy and not like Tom at all to write. The notion that it was some sort of sick joke came back. It gave him this uneasy heat in his stomach. But would Tom stoop this low to write this?

_“I jerk off to the times we have together-”_

Okay. That was enough. This had to be some kind of prank. A feeling of dread came across him. He skimmed through about two more paragraphs of the pornographic-worthy words that progressively got worse until he came across this:

_“Psych! You fucking asshole! I would never feel that way! Shit, I’d rather kill myself. Go fuck yourself. You can thank Matt for all that lovey-dovey shit. April Fool’s, motherfucker!”_

Tord was a mess of feelings. What the fuck?! He was full of rage, of hate, and… was that disappointment? Fuck. Did he actually have any hope? He knew this was coming. He felt the need to throw up. Tord was in deeper than he ever thought. He punched the wall, and in distant realization he saw how he left a dent. Tord notes how his headache came back with a new vengeance. 

He couldn’t believe he forgot it was April Fool’s Day. He checked his phone. Yup. Fuck.

Tord heard Tom’s damnable laughter from the kitchen, and if he listened close enough he could hear Matt and Edd’s giggling. 

He was going to get back at that fucker.

Tord freezes in his anger as the laughter continues. The feeling of nausea comes back again. Wait. If Tom even had such an idea to write this to him, does that mean he knew? That he knew before that Tord liked Tom? 

Fuck. Better not question such things and drown it out to the sound of guns or hentai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the product of me procrastinating whoops


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you peeps wanted another chapter and so here ya go.  
> This was originally going to be a oneshot and then I changed my mind from all your wonderful comments. :D My hand slipped and it was way longer than I was planning on haha.

Tom can’t stop laughing.

He’s in the kitchen with Matt and Edd, and although they’re all having a great time knowing Tord’s suffering, he’s the most vocal. 

“Oh my God, Tom. You need to keep it on the low-down,” Edd warned him, repressing his smile and chuckles with a hand. “He’ll find out sooner if you’re any louder.”

Matt’s faring better than both, “I wonder what he’ll think of my excerpts from the Matt on Matt action book I’m writing!” He gives a large smile that’s screaming “Popular!”

Then they hear it. The sound of someone punching a wall.

Tom’s in hysteria now, collapsing to the floor, clutching his sides. Edd’s still trying to hold in his giggles and Matt’s caught on as well. 

Tom didn’t think it the whole thing would go down as it had. Especially when he had to sneak into Tord’s bedroom to plant the letter. Knowing the communist, he wouldn't have been surprised if some sort of defense system covered the entirety of the room. 

Tom also knows he may have overstepped some boundaries. He would never admit it, but there was a small part of him that felt bad for doing it.

He got the idea earlier that year, when Edd had told him the news. It was after one of Tom and Tord’s more nasty fights, the insults exchanged hitting harder than usual. Edd had to break them up, and in the end had pulled Tom to the side as Tord stormed off to take refuge in his room. 

“Tom,” Edd said with concern and a serious face. “I really think you should go easier on him.”

“Easier on him?” Tom exclaimed, pointing to Tord’s room. He was still riled up from the argument. “ _Edd_ , you _can't_ mean that.”

“Yes, _Tom_ , I _can_ and I _will_ ,” he's aggravated now. “You two seriously need to get your stuff together. Matt and I live in this house too, you know.”

“Well why don't you tell that to Tord too, huh?”

Edd sighs, “Look.” He glances over at Tord’s room, and softly presses Tom’s back to move someplace else. He continues speaking as they slowly walk away, “I know you two hate each other's guts, and I'm not sure why or when that started, but there was a time…”

Tom waits for Edd to finish his sentence, but once he realizes the hesitation went on for too long he tries, “There was a time what?”

Edd has a defeated look that makes Tom question if he had given the other man that much of a problem. “There was a time when I think Tord liked you.” He says it softly, tentatively. Anxiously.

They're in Edd’s room now, and it's far enough for prying ears to be deaf to, but Tom’s sure anyone in the house could have heard him then. 

“ _Tord?!_ ” He laughs out. “ _Tord_ , the _commie bastard_ that _always_ insults me actually _liked m-_ ”

Edd stops him before he does irreparable damage. A hand clamps on Tom’s mouth before he finishes. 

The man in green is furious now, but keeps his cool. “Tom, you need to be quiet. Okay?”

He nods, wide eyed. He's silent. Edd lets him go, closing the door behind them.

“Did he tell you himself?” Tom asks.

“No,” Edd finds himself relaxing a bit more and lets out a chuckle. “I had my suspicions, though.” 

They're both in chairs, now. Tom’s reflecting and he's not sure how he feels. Edd notices the silence and presses, “Did you know at all?”

He shakes his head, no. Not in the least. “Never in a million years.”

The other’s features seem to soften. Perhaps Edd was comforted. At least Tom wasn't a complete jerk.

“Ah.”

There's a moment of both looking at the ground when Tom gets up, “I'm gonna go to my room and think about this.”

Edd nods, and leaves Tom to his devices.

The man in blue decides he can't do this without alcohol in him, so he grabs the first bottle of Smirnoff that enters his vision. He downs it in the next five minutes.

Tom collapsed to his bed quickly after, bouncing a bit as he threw all his weight on it. He barely thinks about the conversation until he hears Edd talking to Matt in the kitchen. Fuck.

Tom was.... At odds with what he was told. Tord? Liked him? When was that, even? Tom can’t even remember a time when they weren’t at each other’s throats. What would make the other ever like him?

The blue hooded man shoves his face in his pillow, groaning. He couldn’t deal with this right now. Drunk or sober, he doubts he’ll ever take anything like this so well. 

He has to admit in the back of his mind, though, that Tord was a beautifully built man. All that continued military training for ‘personal reasons’ (as the communist offhandedly explained) certainly paid off. Tom wouldn’t deny that at one point in time he considered Tord to be someone he might have a crush on. He considers that maybe Tord wasn’t always so mean, because he doubts he’d ever like him the way he was now.

But that was far gone, and if anything was a fleeting moment long ago. Tom shakes his head further into his pillow. He still couldn't believe it. He would be flattered, but knowing it was the commie made his insides turn. It wasn’t that he was disgusted that the other liked him, but more of the fact that he did and Tom had no clue. That he had kept on being rude to the other…

No. Why should Tom care now? It was over and done. There was no going back at this point and Tom figures he might as well forget any of this happened. He would store this in the back of his head, but as long as Tord kept being a piece of shit, there would be nothing to stop Tom from being the same. 

Now in the present, he stops his laughter as he sees Tord walk quickly past them to the front door, a duffle bag in hand. He wonders what’s in it, the bag not giving any clues to what it might hold. If he had to guess, guns would be his first pick. The man in red gave Tom a nearly hurt but melancholy look, not bothering to slam the door on the way out.

Yeah, maybe he went a little far. Tom was surprised enough that Tord wasn't furiously angry like he expected him to be.

Edd’s face drops once he sees this, and gives Tom a look that says, “Shit, we messed up.”

He gives a shrug as Matt stops giggling, finally realizing everyone else stopped laughing. The redhead notices the uneasy mood, and suddenly bored from the lack of attention, goes to make some food.

Now that Matt was gone, Edd says, “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Hey! You were on it, too!”

“Not as much as you and Matt! I just knew it was happening!”

Tom sighs, “I think the regret is kicking in.” He wouldn’t deny Edd’s point. He continues, allowing a little grin to show on his face, “But I gotta say that was a bit funny.”

“ _...Tom_ ,” Edd warns, but soon shares the grin. “We really need better morals.”

Tom chuckles a bit in agreeance, and they both end up going to the kitchen with Matt for food.

-

Tord comes back to the house late at night, at the usual time when Tom’s drunk on the couch and Edd and Matt have gone to bed.

Tom barely has time to notice the communist was back with a scarlet face, accenting his red hoodie. Little does he put two and two together that Tord was drinking, even as the man drops into the couch next to him without much of a word.

Then he takes it out. A bottle of Smirnoff. 

But it's not just any alcoholic drink. It's a beverage that Tom’s been asking for for what felt like forever. It was the rarest edition of the Smirnoff variety, nearly on par with getting something at the black market. The company made a few before they completely shut off the production for unknown reasons. Tom never blamed his housemates for never being able to get it- he himself never got close enough. But of all things Tord has this with him.

His heart jumped as he saw the label, the bottle casually resting at Tord’s side furthest from Tom. 

“Tord…” he mumbled, barely audible in his slurring drunk voice. “Wa’s dat?”

The other man shrugs, the fingers holding the drink twitching. “I need to tell you something.” The Norwegian’s accent was incredibly heavy, and Tom finally notices that Tord’s drunk too.

Tom waits for him to finish, and uses his hand to gesture him to continue.

Tord takes a couple more moments of silence, then, “I think it's time we set aside our differences.”

Tom’s a bit shaken at the sentence, wide eyes displaying only a fraction of his surprise.

Tord continues, “And I know we’ve been fighting a long time but maybe it can change.” 

The man in blue is more than just confused. He just pranked this guy, toying with his emotions. Tom had felt bad. Could he believe that his frienemy was going to turn over a new leaf for him? Maybe Tord’s lost feelings came back and he's trying to mend this fucked up relationship.

“So I got you this,” Tord holds up the bottle in the dim lamp light. Tom’s mouth was already watering. He nearly forgets what Tord’s been saying in his desire to just take the damn bottle right then and there. “But I think because of what you did today I get something from you too.”

Tom’s struggling now to hear his words, his accent getting thicker and the bottle moving coyly in the other man’s hand. 

“Kiss me for it.”

Tom doesn't have the capacity to think about what that meant, he doesn't take the time to ponder on what was going on with Tord’s sudden change of character. All Tom knows is that when the man sitting across from him leans in, he knows he’ll be drinking it all away soon. The fog of his drunkenness clouds all logic. 

Their lips make contact, and at first it's hesitant. Then suddenly there's this unrelenting heat that comes between them, some sort of unrealized potential both of them have. Tom can barely feel anything, can vaguely feel Tord’s chapped lips, yet it feels like a nuclear bomb just set of and he's being blown back. He doesn't know when it happens but now he's kissing back, and Tom wouldn't be able to explain why. All he knows is now there's a soft hand at the back of his head that caresses him through his hair and God, if he didn't feel good right then. 

Suddenly the primitive instinct to breathe takes over and both men pull back quickly. The heat is gone, but his heart is pounding through the fog of alcohol.

Then Tord gets this look of pain and confusion and happiness and now Tom’s no longer thinking of the bottle of Smirnoff promised. He's reliving that one moment of ecstasy. The man barely realizes who he just made contact with but he doesn't care.

That is, until the other man jumps from the couch like it's on fire and sprints away. The bottle was left behind- forgotten- in the space between the cushions. 

Tom takes a few seconds to recover, ghosting fingers over his lips. He fancies he can still feel the other. But his eyes are quick to wander to the bottle and he snatches it up, holding it up closer to the light. 

He dazedly clutches it to his chest and he goes to bed. 

The next morning comes too quickly, and Tom curses the light that spills on his oversensitive eyes. He can feel the hangover effects like a sledgehammer to the face and barely recalls what had happened last night. But the luxury soon goes away once Tom spots the bottle of the rare Smirnoff on his desk next to his bed.

His memories are fuzzy, but it's not long until he can recall the kiss he had with… he had with…

Oh fuck. 

Tord.

He has a terrible headache that's gradually making its way into his head and it's not helping that he made out with the man he hated the most. Or was it? Did he really hate Tord that much? The first answer to come to mind was the obvious ‘of fucking course,’ but there's a part of him that really wanted to repeat last night’s events.

Tom slaps himself. No. No way. This wasn't happening. Tom was drunk and Tord took advantage of that. End of story. 

He takes the bottle in his hands, immediately feeling the cool liquid slosh around. Maybe he could drink away more of these building problems. But it's then that he sees it. The label was slowly peeling off, and now Tom’s furious because this wasn't what he thought it was-

He takes one sip and knows right away that Tord cheated him. It tasted like nothing- like water- if he was being honest.

That commie bastard tricked him into kissing him.

But Tom’s anger fades once he knows he deserved that. He honestly couldn't say if he'd resist even without the promise of a rare drink. He also knows he wants to strangle Tord for the prank, but remembers that he himself had stooped pretty low for his letter. There was also that amazing kiss-

Nope. Tom was not going down that path. Not this morning, not today, not ever. He labels the event as: ‘the many fails of drunk Tom that shall never be mentioned again.’

The man in blue sighs, because he knows how awkward things will be with the two of them and he knows it's him to blame. He could easily put the guilt on Edd for telling him about Tord’s feelings in the first place and going along for the ride, or on Tord for the stunt last night. But frankly? Tom can admit his fault.

But maybe this would make things between them less violent. Maybe this awkward stage could mean something else.

Tom takes a deep breath and walks outside of his room. He wasn't ready at all to take on what was coming but he doubts he's ever be.


End file.
